Three days of violence

A 24-hour span of violence has left four people dead in an unincorporated area near South Los Angeles. The recent spate of shootings leaves a community reeling as yet another cycle of senseless killings claims more innocent lives in the Southland. The cycle of violence started Sunday, when two brothers and a cousin were at a cruising event when shots rang out. The shooting erupted at about 11:30 p.m. as dozens of people were gathered for the event, showing off their cars. Deputy Aura Sierra of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau said a verbal dispute broke out and shots were fired by a man who then fled in a dark colored vehicle. Slain were Jose Alfred Farias, 24, and his brother Victor Manuel Farias, 25, both of Los Angeles. The third victim was Vidal Hernandez Rebolledo, 34, of Los Angeles. A fourth man survived the shooting, which occurred at Imperial Highway and Western Avenue, said Sierra. Relatives of the three men killed Sunday pleaded with the public to help find the killers while they also asked for donations for funeral expenses. On Monday night, 17-year-old Eric Sims of Los Angeles, a football player at Washington Prepatory High School, was shot while riding his bicycle in the 1100 block of West 109th Street in the unincorporated Los Angeles County community of Westmont. Witnesses said that two males in a compact vehicle pulled up next to Sims and one of the suspects opened fire, striking the boy in the lower torso. Sims was pronounced dead at the scene. A man was shot to death in the unincorporated Florence area of Los Angeles County, authorities said yesterday. The shooting at the intersection of Florence and Graham avenues was reported around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. The victim, who died at the scene, had not been identified as of press time. "You've got to speak up," said community activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson at the press conference. "If not, that's a prescription for disaster. It's a prescription for more young men and young women losing their lives in our community." Appealing to witnesses who may have seen the murders," Eddie Jones, president of the Los Angeles Civil Rights Association said,. "It's time to shun the behavior that killed your friends ...your family members ...your classmates."